Gallic Passion for the Minitel
Thwarts L'Internet in France

By

Kimberley A. Strassel Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated March 27, 1998 1:00 a.m. ET

PARIS -- Jean-Paul Figer spends his days urging corporate France to jump onto the Internet. As a group executive for computer-services company Cap Gemini SA, he routinely meets with leading executives to detail new ways of making money in cyberspace.

And how does Mr. Figer usually buy a train ticket or size up his bank account on-line? He skips the Internet and turns instead to a small, clunky terminal behind his desk, the...